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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Home Network Solution - Powerline Ethernet Adapter

Here's the problem: the mothership (main home computer and wireless router) is in my basement office. The wife has a shiny new office on the main level and another PC that is connected via wireless modem to the mothership. Unfortunately, due to the sensitive nature of her job, her work laptop doesn't work with a wireless modem! What to do?

Allow the wife to sit on the floor in my basement office when she wants to access her e-mail at work.

Move the DSL modem to the wife's office and work via a wireless modem in my basement office.

Tell her go into the office everyday, so she doesn't have worry about trying to connect from home.

Drill some holes in the side of the house and run a Ethernet cable upstairs along the outside of the house.

NO! NO! NO! And NO!

The answer: Purchase a Powerline Ethernet Adapter which creates an Ethernet network out of your homes electrical system. Plug one adapter into an electrical outlet near the router attached to my basement office computer. Attach the router to the first adapter. Plug the second adapter into an electrical outlet in my wife's office. Attach an Ethernet cable to that adapter and her computer... and like magic, her work laptop is attached to the Internet via the router in the basement. The connection speed is that same as if she was connected to the router in my office.

I went with a Netgear HDX101 200Mbps Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter because my wireless router is also a Netgear model. It cost around $160.00 and installation took the time to plug the two adapters into the electrical outlets on the wall!

4 comments:

Melv,hey there, thanks for dropping by... i have not had any issues with the Netgear adapters. as i mentioned above, it is setup for my wife's office upstairs and she only uses it a couple of days a week (when she has the opportunity to work from home)... and we have had ZERO complaints.